The researchers surveyed around 1,000 adult Internet users and found that two thirds of them said they didn’t want tailored ads. The number grew to between 73 and 86 percent once people were told about some of the techniques marketers employ to mine for information.

Among young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years old, 54 percent opposed the idea of behavioral targeting. Eighty-six percent of them said they didn’t want advertising if it was the result of monitoring their online activities and 90 percent rejected it if offline information was being collected.

From the study:

Exactly why they reject behavioral targeting is hard to determine. There may well be several reasons. One may be a general antagonism to being followed without knowing exactly how or with what effects. […]Another reason might be a fear that selective presentation of advertisements, discount offers, or news will put them at a monetary or social disadvantage: some people might get more useful or interesting tailored content than others depending on the conclusions marketers draw about them.

The study is the first national survey on people’s attitudes toward behavioral targeting, which involves monitoring their online habits and directing ads to them based on that information.

Robert Fleming, president and CEO of the eMarketing Association, said there was nothing sinister about the practice. He described it as a tool that helped reduce the amount of spam consumers see on their screens and increase the relevance of the messages they receive.

“There’s a dichotomy when consumers want privacy and also want a personalized Web experience with things of interest to them. They’re going to have to give some personal information, obviously,” he said.

Privacy advocates have been concerned for some time now about the collection of user data for marketing purposes and what they perceive as a general lack of public awareness on the practice.

“The problem is not so much the customization of advertising but the customization of the data the advertising is based from. It’s an indication that people are being watched in a profound and surreptitious way they’re unaware of,” said Peter Eckersley, a senior technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

In fact, the study suggests that a majority of the interviewees had an incorrect perception as to what the law allows marketers to do with the information they collect on Web users:

Americans mistakenly believe that current government laws restrict companies from selling wide-ranging data about them. When asked true-false questions about companies’ rights to share and sell information about their activities online and off, respondents on average answer only 1.5 of 5 online laws and 1.7 of the 4 offline laws correctly because they falsely assume government regulations prohibit the sale of data.

It may not be too long before the issue becomes a political hot button. Shortly after a coalition of privacy groups published a report on behavioral targeting, U.S. representative Rick Boucher (D-Va.) stated last week that he plans to introduce legislation that would prevent marketers from collecting information on Web users’ habits.

According to the study, 92 percent of the interviewees said there should be a law that required advertisers to delete information on users on request.

“This survey finds that Americans want openness with marketers,” the study’s abstract read. “If marketers want to continue to use various forms of behavioral targeting in their interactions with Americans, they must work with policymakers to open up the process so that individuals can learn exactly how their information is being collected and used, and then exercise control over their data.”